Connector for bag straps and the like



A ril 25, 1939- D. REITER CONNECTOR FOR BAG STRAPS AND THE LIKE Filed. March 1; 1937 INVENTOR fiA/V/[L A IQEITER A RNEY Patented Apr. 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Daniel I. Reiter, New. York, N. Y.

Application March 1, 1937, Serial No. 128,304

5 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in means for connecting handles to handbags and the like and more particularly to an article of manufacture having means for quick and perma- 5 nent attachment to a strap end and also provided with means for rapid attachment to a bag body.

The previous manner of attaching strap handles to bags usually entailed sewing operations which the present invention seeks to obviate.

10 These older methods because of their slowness were necessarily expensive.

In seeking to provide more economical means for rapidly and securely affixing a handle to a bag body, the invention contemplates the provi- 16 sion of a sheet metal member having strap gripping means and a second member arranged in articulated relation therewith and adapted to be attached to the bag body.

While the specific forms of the invention as 20 illustrated are at present preferred, it is apparent that the invention as herein disclosed may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The following specification is based on the accompanying 25 drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a connector as at present contemplated.

Fig. 2 is an inside face view of the connector as associated with a handle strap.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front view, partly in section, of a hand bag incorporating a connector as herein contemplated.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a. connector of slightly modified form.

With more particular reference to the drawing there is shown at 5, a usual type of hand bag which is provided with a strap handle 6.

As contemplated in the invention, the strap is attached to the bag by means of a connector I. In the forms shown, the connector comprises a sheet metal body member having a substantially fiat back portion 8 provided with integrally formed strap embracing members 9 extending 45 from the lateral edges of the back portion and bent towards each other as shown. I

When formed in a die, the members 9 are left in spaced relation to the back, i. e., a sufiicient space is left so a strap end may be readily in- 50 serted between the back portion and the embracing members.

All or some of the edges of the members 9 are preferably formed with spurs or teeth l adapted to impress into and enter the material or fabric of the strap. If desire-d, mid portions of the with two substantially similar co -extensive and members 9 may be struck back to form spurs, or prick punched portions may be provided.

From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that it is merely necessary to insert the strap end between the back and the embracing members 5 and to press said members towards the back so the spurs l0 become embedded in the strap material to securely hold the strap in place.

A feature of the construction includes a pair of lugs ll formed from the backand bent for- 10 ward to serve as ledges against which the strap end may be placed during assembly. Theseledges also serve to cover the lateral end portions of the strap end and, hence, provide a neater and more finished structure.

The lower middle portion l2 of the back is preferably formed with a slot such as l3 substantially parallel to the bottom edge of the connector body. A metal clip H! has its loop I 5 arranged in the slot l3 and therefore encompasses the bar l6 formed between the slot and the mentioned bottom edge.

The clip 14, preferably made of thinner metal than the body of the connector, may be formed contiguous prongs I1. As can be seen from the construction, the clip is hinged to the connector body by the described mode of attachment.

The bag 5 near each end of its top portion, is preferably provided with a slot I 8 of suiiicient size to permit the passage therethrough of the prongs l! of the clip M. In assembling the ham dle on the bag, the prongs are passed through the slots and from the inside of the bag, a washer I9 is strung on the prongs which are then oppositely bent as shown.

With the loop l5 securely seated on the top surface of the bag wall and the washer I9 similarly positioned against the inner surface, the clip is non-displaceably held so that the handle 6 4 has free articulation at the hinge formed between the connector body and the clip.

While the inclusion of the ledges H in the structure is preferred, a desirable construction, shown in Fig. 4, omits these ledges. When the 45 strap ends are otherwise neatly finished, this form of construction may be profitably employed.

While I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I do not intend to be understood as limiting myself thereto,

but desire to claim my invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a strap handle having a fiat end part of the same thickness as the remainder thereof, a one-piece sheet metal member clamped about the side edge, front and back of said end part and forming an extension thereof, said member having a flat back portion provided with a slot adjacent to and parallel to its end edge and spaced therefrom a sufficient distance to provide a transversely extending hinge bar terminating at said end edge, a metal clip having a hollow cylindrical loop passing through said slot and encompassing said hinge bar and provided with at least two prongs, and a hand bag or the like having an opening through which said prongs are passed, said, pron s being oppo- A sitely bent to secure said clip to said bag.

2. A two-piece connector of the character described comprising a sheet metal body, said body comprising a substantially flat back portion and integrally formed gripping means, said back portion and said gripping means being adapted to encircle the front, back and sides of the end portion of a strip or the like, said back portion having a flat part extending beyond said gripping means, said extending flat part having a transverse slot therein parallel to the end edge thereof and providing a flat hinge bar at the extremity of said flat part, and a bendable member having a hollow substantiallycylindrical elongated loop portion passing completely through said slot and encompassing and extending laterally beyond both faces of said bar, and flat bendable extensions projecting integrally from said loop and adapted to be bent after passage through an opening in a hand bag to secure the strap end to said bag.

3. A one-piece sheet metal connector body comprising a substantial flat rectangular back portion havingintegrally formed oppositely directed gripping members outstanding integrally from and in substantially parallel relation to the back portion, a pair of spaced lugs having free ends bent from the material at the lowermost corners of said back portion and disposed at substantially right angles thereto and transversely to the mentioned gripping members, said lugs providing an extension on said back member below the lugs, said extension having an elongated slot therein in sufiiciently spaced relation to the lowermost edge of the back portion to provide a terminal hinge bar on the extension, said back and gripping portions being adapted to encircle the front,-back and side edges of the end part of a bag strap or the like, said lugs being adapted to engage the end edge of said strap, and said slot being adapted to hingedly receive a member secured to a hand bag or the like.

l. A two-piece connector for attaching a strap handle to a hand bag or the like comprising a one-piece sheet metal member having a flat back provided with an elongated slot substantially parallel to and adjacent the lower edge thereof to provide an integral hinge bar at the bottom of said back, a pair of front pieces arranged in spaced relation to the back to provide a space therebetween for the reception of an end part of the strap handle, a bend integrally joining each of the front pieces to a side edge of the back and adapted to cover the side edge of said end part of the handle, prongs at the free end of each of said front pieces, a pair of spaced stop ledges extending integrally at right angles to the back above said slot and bent from the material at the corners of the back, said stop ledges substantially bridging the bottom of said space, and a bendable sheet metal clip provided with a pair of bendable flat end portions and with a cylindrical loop integrally joining said portions, said loop passing completely through the slot of said back.

5. A two-piece sheet metal connector for use in attaching each end of a strap handle to a hand bag or the like comprising a one-piece sheet metal member having a back flat and plane throughout, and having a pair of oppositely directed gripping members having free ends andoutstanding integrally from and in substantially parallel relation to the back, said gripping members having spurs at the free ends thereof, said back being provided with rectangular cutout corners forming an end portion on the back reduced in width, a pair of spaced stop ledges extending integrally from and at right angles to the back and consisting of the material removed and bent from the back to form said corners, said ledges having free terminal ends independent of the back and arranged adjacent an edge of the adjacent gripping member, and extending between said back and gripping members, a bend integrally joining the side edge of each of the gripping members to a side edge of the back and adapted to cover the side edge of said end part of the handle, each of the gripping members being substantially half the width of the back, the reduced end portion of the back having an elongated slot therein between said out cut corners to provide an integral hinge bar at the terminal part of said reduced portion, and a bendable onepiece sheet metal member having a central hol- 10w cylindrical loop portion passing completely through the slot and encompassing and extending laterally beyond both faces of the hinge bar, said bendable member having a pair of flat bendable extensions projecting from the loop for permanently and hingedly securing the bendable member to the first-mentioned member after the extensions thereof are passed through an opening in a hand bag and bent.

DANIEL I. REITER. 

